The Alcohol. Think Again Campaign aims to decrease alcohol-related harm by reducing short-term and long-term harmful drinking.
The Alcohol. Think Again campaign is the community education and marketing component of the Western Australian effort to reduce the impact that risky alcohol use has on our community.
Alcohol. Think Again aims to reduce the level of alcohol-related harm that results from drunkenness by changing the drinking culture in Western Australia to support safer drinking environments and practices.
Research tells us that even with the best intentions, it can be difficult for responsible drinking to take place if getting drunk is the accepted norm, there is social pressure to drink and the setting makes it easy to drink large amounts.
Changing our (community) acceptance of drunkenness and the problems that go with it is one of the most important parts of creating a less harmful drinking culture. To begin this change, the main strategy of the Alcohol. Think Again campaign is to use media and other information mediums to explain the problems related to the binge drinking culture and raise awareness about what causes these problems at a community level, rather than just focusing on the individual drinker.
Characteristics of drinking environments, community attitudes to drunkenness, the availability of alcohol, how alcohol is supplied, role-modelling, and alcohol advertising are just some of the factors that influence the drinking choices people make. These factors are also contributors to levels of alcohol-related harm and problems within the community.
[i] Cusens B & Shepherd J, 2005, Prevention of Alcohol-Related Assault and Injury, Hospital Med, Hosp Med. 2005 Jun;66(6):346-8.